PI: Assistant Professor Scott Klemmer

Abstract

Prototyping is central to design thinking. As such, perhaps the most fundamental empirical question in design thinking is: (how) do prototyping practices affect design quality? This proposed research will make significant strides towards an answer, providing both academics and business leaders with a clearer understanding of prototyping’s value. The primary thrust of the proposed research is empirical inquiry. A secondary thrust, in collaboration with Robert Sutton, will construct a conceptual framework for prototyping that synthesizes diverse theory, research, and intuition from the behavioral sciences, engineering, and design.